al about one mile on the
south-west side of the town; where the seamen were shut up in the lower,
and the officers in the upper apartment, there being only two rooms.

The arrival of the squadron gave the prisoners a hope of being released,
either from a general exchange, or for such Frenchmen as our ships might
take whilst cruising off the island; even Mr. Aken and myself, since our
swords had been taken away, conceived some hopes, for we were then
prisoners according to the definition of M. Neufville. There was,
however, no intercourse with the squadron until the 19th, on which, and
the two following days, a frigate was lying off the port with a flag of
truce hoisted, and boats passed and repassed between her and the shore.
Our anxiety to know the result was not a little; and we soon learned that
captain Cockburne of the Phaeton had come in for the purpose of seeing
general De Caen; but on entering the port he had been met, blindfolded,
and taken on board the prison ship, which was also the guard ship; that
finding he could not see the general, and that no officer was sent to
treat with him, he left a packet from captain Osborn and returned in
disgust. His mission, we were told, was to negotiate an exchange of
prisoners, particularly mine; but in the answer given by general De Caen
it was said, that not being a prisoner of war, no exchange for me could
be accepted; nor did any one obtain his liberty in consequence.

OCTOBER 1804

Few persons were admitted to the Garden Prison during the presence of the
English squadron; but it did not prevent captain Bergeret and M. Bonnefoy
from coming occasionally. In the end of October I learned with much
regret, that the interpreter had been dismissed from his employment, in
consequence of having carried only one copy of the same newspaper to
general De Caen, when two had been found in an American vessel which he
had boarded off the port, according to custom; the other had been
communicated to some of his friends, which was deemed an irremissible
offence. This obliging man, to whom I was under obligations for many acts
of attention and some of real service, feared to ask any future
permission to visit the Garden Prison.

Admiral Linois arrived from a cruise on the 31st, with three rich prizes,
and got into Port Bourbon unimpeded by our ships, which were off another
part of the island; and the same evening commodore Osborn quitted
Mauritius. Mr. Robertson and Mr. Webb of the Apl